The present invention relates to a suction apparatus for use in an internal combustion engine.
Conventionally, as a suction apparatus which is used to supply air to an engine of a car, there is proposed a suction apparatus comprising a case serving as an apparatus main body. In the apparatus main body, there are incorporated suction ducts, an air cleaner and a closed-container-shaped resonator. The air cleaner cleans air sucked therein from the open air. The closed-container-like resonator reduces noise caused in the air sucking operation. In this case, the suction ducts comprises a first duct for sucking in air from the open air and a second duct for discharging the sucked-air into the car engine after has been cleaned by the air cleaner.
By the way, to structure the suction apparatus in a compact size, preferably the apparatus main body may be divided into a lower box body and an upper box body, and the air cleaner may be held between the upper and lower box bodies. In this case, in order to reduce the weight of the upper and lower box bodies and enhance the rigidity thereof, especially, in order to be able to obtain a hold force for holding the air cleaner therebetween, it is necessary to provide a plurality of ribs in the upper and lowerbox bodies. Some of these ribs are situated in suction openings respectively formed in the second duct, which raises a problem that the flow resistance of the air is increased.
The present invention aims at eliminating the drawbacks found in the above-mentioned conventional suction apparatus. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a suction apparatus for use in an internal combustion engine which can reduce the flow resistance of the sucked-in air as much as possible without impairing the function of the ribs disposed in the box bodies.
In attaining the above object, according to the invention, there is provided a suction apparatus for use in an internal combustion engine, comprising an apparatus main body divided into a lower box body and an upper box body. The apparatus includes therein a first duct for sucking in air from the open air, a resonator connected to the first duct, an air cleaner for cleaning the air sucked by the first duct, and a second duct for supplying the air, after it has passed through the air cleaner, to an internal combustion engine. The resonator, first duct and air cleaner are respectively stored in the lower box body, while the second duct is stored in the upper box body. The air cleaner includes a packing which is formed of elastic material and disposed on the periphery thereof. The upper box body includes a plate-shaped portion for pressing against the packing of the air cleaner and a plurality of ribs respectively disposed in the plate-shaped portion, and, of these ribs, ribs situated in the suction openings of the second duct are respectively inclined at an angle conformed to the installation angle of the second duct.
The above-mentioned object can also be achieved by a suction apparatus for use in an internal combustion engine, according to the present invention, comprising:
an apparatus main body having a lower box body and an upper box body;
a first duct disposed in the lower box for sucking in air from the open air;
a resonator disposed in the lower box body and connected to the first duct;
an air cleaner disposed in the lower box body for cleaning the air sucked by the first duct, the air cleaner including a packing which is formed of an elastic material and is disposed on the periphery of the air cleaner;
a second duct disposed in the upper box body for supplying the air to an internal combustion engine through its suction opening after it has passed through the air cleaner, the second duct extending in a direction inclined at a predetermined installation angle relative to a lateral direction of the apparatus main body,
wherein the upper box body includes,
a plate-shaped portion for pressing against the packing of the air cleaner; and
a plurality of ribs respectively disposed in the plate-shaped portion, and, of the plurality of ribs, ribs situated in the suction opening of the second duct are respectively inclined at an angle conformed to the predetermined installation angle of the second duct.
In the above-structured suction apparatus, the resonator, first duct and air cleaner as well as the second duct are compactly incorporated into the lower and upper box bodies respectively. Due to provision of the ribs in the plate-shaped portion for pressing against the packing, the air cleaner can be held with a required force. Also, since some of these ribs, which are situated in the suction openings of the second duct, are respectively inclined at an angle conformed to the installation angle of the second duct, the flow of the air from the air cleaner to the second duct can be made smooth, thereby being able to reduce the flow resistance of the air.